sausenvsStauseeConfusable pair

Quick tell: sausen is a verb, Stausee is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sausen” is a verb and “Stausee” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,608
“sausen” frequency rank
#32,786
“Stausee” frequency rank
69394
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sausen Stausee
Definition ein scharfes Geräusch verursachen, das gleichmäßig an- und abschwillt und an Reibung erinnert ein See, der mit Hilfe einer Talsperre erzeugt wird, um Wasser zu sammeln

Where the eye mixes sausen and Stausee

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. sausen runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against Stausee's 7 (CCVVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
sausen
7 ch
Stausee

Look-alike desk: sausen vs Stausee

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sausen is [ˈzaʊ̯zn̩] while Stausee is [ˈʃtaʊ̯ˌzeː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69394, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sausen is recorded at frequency rank #36,608, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzaʊ̯zn̩]. Stausee is at rank #32,786, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtaʊ̯ˌzeː].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 69394, this pair ranks #477,976 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sausen vs Stausee

Shared letters: aesu. Private to "sausen": n. Private to "Stausee": t.

"sausen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Stausee" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sausen ← asusen · sasuen · sauesn · sausenn · sausne · saussen · ssausen · suasen
  • Stausee ← satusee · sstausee · stasuee · stauese · stause · staussee · sttausee · stuasee

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sausen" and "Stausee" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sausen" is a verb and "Stausee" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "sausen" vs "Stausee" - which ranks higher?
"Stausee" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,786 in our German list, against #36,608 for "sausen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sausen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stausee" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #477,976 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sausen" and "Stausee" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sausen vs Stuten". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #477,976 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list